On private land, a parking charge notice will either be put on the offending vehicle or it will have been clocked by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera and a "ticket" will be sent by post to the vehicle's registered keeper IF they are members of the British Parking Association (BPA) or the Independent Parking Committee (IPC).

If the car park operator is not accredited, then they will be unable to get hold of your details via the DVLA and will find it hard to pursue you. It has been known for some motorists to make the process easier because they write to the operator to complain about having a ticket put on their car, and in doing so, provide them with their name and address.

Parking tickets

The most common type of parking ticket is a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) issued by local authorities if you park incorrectly or for too long on public land.

Private companies can issue parking tickets and may call them Parking Charge Notices, but they are not the same as the Penalty Charge Notice.

They are not backed up by law. Instead, they are invoices for a breach of contract.

If the car park operator wants to force you to pay, they will need to take you to the civil court, which is costly and time-consuming.

If the car park operator takes you to court and wins, you then have pay the costs in addition to the original charge. If you lose and still refuse to pay, you could find the judgment going on to your credit file and damaging your chances of borrowing or taking out contracts, such as for mobile phones.

Clamping

Wheel-clampers were outlawed from clamping vehicles on private land under the Protection of Freedoms Act in 2012. In Scotland, the practice was banned in 1992. However, in Northern Ireland the right to clamp still exists.

Top tips if you've been given a parking fine

Landowners have a right to charge for and enforce parking, so pay up if you've broken the rules UNLESS you believe your ticket is exorbitant, disproportionate or there was inadequate signposting.

Do not pay upfront at the time of the event and don't be intimidated to do so.

As mentioned earlier, if the private parking operator is non-accredited and you simply get a ticket without a follow-up notice in the post, then you may be able to get away with it because they have no means of tracing you via the DVLA.

If the car park operator is a member of one of the two trade bodies — the BPA or IPC — both have a code of practice for ticket issuing, a maximum charge limit and an appeals process.

Parking fines remain a hot topic

And finally, it seems that private parking penalties are as controversial as ever.

The issue hit the headlines again November 2015 when parking fines issued by private companies were ruled as fair and proportionate by the Supreme Court.

The fairness of high fines for motorists who fall foul of parking restrictions was challenged by an Essex man who was charged £85 for overstaying a two-hour free parking slot by 52 minutes.

Which? Executive Director Richard Lloyd commented: "This is a thoroughly disappointing judgment based on a narrow interpretation of the law.

“It will cause chaos if cowboy parking firms choose to take advantage of the ruling by hitting drivers with even more excessive charges. Our advice to consumers is to be on your guard and always appeal if you think a parking fine is unfair."

And in March 2017, a woman was given a parking fine of almost £25,000 by a judge after she ignored over 200 parking charge notices, simply because she believed she was in the right - so always use your common sense, and don't continue to park somewhere if you do get a ticket, no matter how convinced you are that you should be allowed to park there!

The opinions expressed are those of the author and are not held by Saga unless specifically stated.

The material is for general information only and does not constitute investment, tax, legal, medical or other form of advice. You should not rely on this information to make (or refrain from making) any decisions. Always obtain independent, professional advice for your own particular situation.

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